Vacation over

Today, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar will toast the nation. They will participate in the annual ritual that commemorates our separation from the United Kingdom.

But all of today’s bells and whistles will ring hollow if both leaders are unable to advance the cause of the nation in a substantial way. You want to talk patriotism? Let us start from the top.

We welcome Friday’s crime talks.

It matters not who initiated them.

The nation faces challenges which require a bipartisan approach. We urge both leaders to sweep the politics away. They must resolve differences.

They must fight together. In this context, Rowley should ignore comments made by Persad-Bissessar on Monday night in which she was critical of the new Government’s handling of the crime situation, and get on with the meeting.

The first issue on the agenda must be the question of the resources devoted to the long list of agencies charged with crime-fighting.

There must be consideration of the efficiency of the National Security Council, Ministry of National Security, Police Service and even the supporting agencies such as the Defence Force and the surveillance apparatus.

What are we providing these agencies? Does the State do enough to enable officials to work well? There must be careful consideration of the various classes of crime.

There are matters related to the drug trade and porous borders. There are matters related to opportunists and predators who target vulnerable groups – such as women and taxi drivers. And there are crimes of passion.

The State has a role to play in all of these, ranging from surveillance to effective crime-scene processing, investigation and prosecution.

It is likely the second Budget of Dr Keith Rowley’s administration will, once more, allocate the most funds to national security. While crime cannot be solved by throwing money at criminals, the efficient allocation of resources is a basic requirement.

A large part of the crime problem also relates to the Judiciary. It must get the resources it needs in order to catch up with the enormous backlog as well as the fast pace of criminal enterprise.

The courts have been working hard, but the public is disheartened when they encounter delays to trials for one reason or another.

Friday’s meeting will see two people who are, by now, fully up to speed with the crime situation. The Prime Minister, as ex officio chairman of the National Security Council, will be privy to the scene on the ground.

Similarly, because the Opposition Leader herself was once the chairman of the National Security Council, she has seen the full picture.

And so, the talks are substantially different from what occurred when Persad-Bissessar and the then PNM Opposition met under her tenure.

Members of the UNC will naturally not be as updated as Cabinet members.

However, they have a general idea of the challenges involved.

Therefore, we insist on solid progress.

We also welcome the proposed agenda suggested by the Opposition yesterday afternoon in response to an invitation to do so from the Prime Minister. Among the items tabled are: legislative matters; administrative issues; civil society and public stakeholder relations; non-partisan parliamentary partnerships; and a framework for continued co-operation.

In relation to the latter, we observe there is need for a more permanent mechanism to ensure collaboration between both sides. Such a mechanism is needed because crime is not the only matter for which cooperation is required.

The Government and Opposition must also work together to address the chronic situation facing the healthcare sector. Reports of shortages of drugs are just one matter of concern. Another is Zika.

We are very heartened good sense has prevailed and both sides will meet. Now, they must turn their talks into action and do right to all manner of people. Vacation is over.